Any opinion on rugged ridge brand spare tire carrier?

Ken Perkins said:
I'd take a look at dirtworx site again , their tire carriers with the bumper is right in that price range of exogate hinges and dirtworx bumper..
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They definitely have a quality tire carrier/bumper combo unit, it's just personally I don't prefer having to open the tire carrier and tailgate separately. Just my preference. There are many that do it all the time.
 
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I don't mind having to open my ORF tire carrier separately from the tailgate. Well it's a little extra PITA step but I would rather have to do that than have it mounted on the bumper. My problem with the Dirtworx combination bumper and tire carrier is I don't like the spare tire's weight being concentrated on the very end of the bumper and being forced to use whatever bumper the tire carrier is on. Yes I have the Dirt Worx rear bumper but I still don't like the basic design of any bumper-mounted spare tire carrier. I've yet to see a bumper mounted spare tire carrier I really liked.
 
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glwood said:
$400 bumper/tire carrier combo, while nice when new, will not last. Someone will likely chime with 'I've had mine for X years, no issues', but the general consensus is that those type just do not last, especially the hinge setup; been there, done that. If you really want a well-made bumper/tire carrier combo, it's going to set you back upwards of $1k or more. Then you still have to deal with opening the tailgate and tire carrier separately, although there are versions that integrate with the tailgate and open together. I have had both. FabFours, great bumper, with tire swing, but really got tired of opening them separately. Expedition One, another great bumper/tire carrier, this one opened with the tailgate, but would tend to come out of adjustment, and was a bit noisy at times. Both were over $1200.

Kathy originally asked about the Rugged Ridge bracket, but that seems to put too much weight out from the tailgate, risking damage to said gate. She also said she is looking to carry a 32" tire. I have a 32" tire on my stock tailgate, no issues. But for $309, she could have the Dirtworx rear bumper with hitch ($159) and would never need anything better, PLUS she could get the Exogate HD replacement TJ hinges ($150)

View attachment 17879 which won't be the entire carrier setup, but would more than beef up her tailgate for a 32" tire (my plans this summer) with the option of adding the tailgate reinforcement, or the rest of the entire Exogate system should the need or desire arise. That would be light years ahead of a Smittybilt type bumper/tire carrier, even if only the bumper and the HD hinges. SB offers some items I would gladly have again; the SB bumper/tire carrier is not one of those items. Bumper yes, tire carrier no way.
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Very good summary ! I think that is exactly what I'm going to do. Start with the bumper from dirtworx And see how a 32 inch tire works on my stock carrier for now(no issues or damage to it). That is once I find a used 32in tire :) Thank you all!
 
Kathy said:
Very good summary ! I think that is exactly what I'm going to do. Start with the bumper from dirtworx And see how a 32 inch tire works on my stock carrier for now(no issues or damage to it). That is once I find a used 32in tire :) Thank you all!
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An important part is to either shorten or extend the rubber bumpers as necessary so that the tire fits snugly against them. It will distribute the load as it is supposed to do and not just hang on the tire mount.
 
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Rob5589 said:
An important part is to either shorten or extend the rubber bumpers as necessary so that the tire fits snugly against them. It will distribute the load as it is supposed to do and not just hang on the tire mount.
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That is true...I had to add a large washer or two to the bottom stud on the tire carrier to space the bottom of the tire out just a bit. Otherwise it was a little too hard to get the tailgate to close all the way.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I just looked up your tire size Kathy and the OE factory spare tire carrier isn't up to carrying a 33" spare. My factory spare tire carrier cracked and failed within about 6 weeks after installing a 33" tire on it. And while that Rugged Ridge carrier is stronger than the OE carrier is, it doesn't beef up the tail gate or hinges like the below recommended Exogate carrier does. Plus it likely positions the spare tire further away from the tailgate which applies more stress to (leverage against) the tailgate and factory hinges.

I'd go with Brantley's suggestion and install an Exogate spare tire carrier which is more than up to that size tire. One thing that's nice about the Exogate is that you don't have to unlatch it first to open the tail gate, it swings open with the tailgate. :)

This one... https://gr8tops.com/shop/jeepmodels/wrangler-lj-2/tj-lj-exogate
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Jerry, was your tire resting on the bumper or supported only by the carrier? The reason I ask is, I recently mounted my 33" spare, and it rests on the bumper (have to lift up a hair to close the door) There's less movement with the 33 than there was with the stock tire.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Absolutely, not many tire carriers attached to a bumper are built all that strongly. Most are flimsily designed and the hinge-point the swing-out rests on is seldom all that beefy. With the Exogate, you can run any bumper you want. Check out the US made $169 rear bumper with an integrated receiver hitch at http://www.thedirtworx.com/_p/prd13/1638368235/product/rear-bumper which is what I've run on two different TJs. High quality with a very beefy receiver hitch, especially given its low price.
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Jerry, what is your opinion on the dirtworx front bumper?
 
Kathy said:
Jerry, what is your opinion on the dirtworx front bumper?
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That's what's on the other end of my TJ.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/bumper-finish.4700/page-3
img_0872-1-jpg.jpg
 
glwood said:
That's what's on the other end of my TJ.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/bumper-finish.4700/page-3
View attachment 17925
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I really like that!!! I contemplated and was going to order both to save on shipping but decided on just the back bumper for now. Will keep exploring for front one as it's not a need at this point . And the front bumper doesn't have as much function as the back. Also worried about weight. Which I'm not sure what it does weigh. But it does look sweet!!!
 
I had the same concerns about weight as you, but in the end decided to get both for the shipping savings. After install, measurements for height on all four corners did not change at all, so the weight did not affect suspension. I believe the two bumpers together weigh about 68 lbs.
 
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DW makes a great looking bumper. I wish I had done more research before choosing the SB I bought. They are basic and work fine but not much cheaper than the DW which is a much nicer bumper.
 
glwood said:
I can vouch for this bumper. Very strong, mounts like it's supposed to, and looks great, and have already made good use of a very well-made hitch receiver:
View attachment 17793
I will most likely add an Exogate tire carrier down the road. I've even had two very beefy integrated tire carrier/bumpers (that were very pricey) on previous Jeeps, and got really tired of opening them separately.
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Hi!, did you paint your rear bumper or did it come like that.? I'm waiting for mine to come in the mail and am stressing if I need to paint it. Love how yours looks.
 
Thanks for the compliment! Responded to your pm.

I did paint it myself, with Rustoleum self-etching primer, then Rustoleum textured black. 3 coats of each. If I had to do it all over again, I would use Duplicolor black bumper coat for the finished coating.
shw-tb102_xl.jpg

But it came out great anyway. I just like the bumper coat finish a bit better.
 
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